America's Secret Oil Stash Is Running Low

Under Texas and Louisiana, the US government keeps its emergency oil in salt caves big enough to hold a skyscraper. This year it started pulling that oil out in one of the biggest withdrawals ever, and the stash is now at its lowest level since the early 1980s. We follow the money: what taxpayers paid for the oil, what it sold for in 2022, what it cost to buy back, who decides when to open the caves, and what any of it really does to the price at your pump. Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:42 Caves made of salt 1:59 Who holds the keys 3:12 The 2022 fire sale 4:08 The buyback math 5:16 Hormuz hits 7:09 Band-Aids underground 8:16 What this means for you Our math (estimates, not official figures) 283.0 million barrels in the reserve ÷ about 21.1 million barrels of petroleum used per day in the US ≈ 13 days of total US consumption (EIA, week ending Oct 9, 2026). 2022 sale vs buyback: 59 million barrels bought back × ($95 - $76) ≈ $1.1 billion, on about a third of the 180 million barrels sold. Sources [1] EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report, Table 1, week ending Oct 9 2026 - https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/... [2] EIA weekly SPR crude stocks - https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/pet_stoc... [3] DOE Office of Petroleum Reserves, Strategic Petroleum Reserve - https://www.energy.gov/hgeo/opr/strat... [4] DOE, SPR Storage Sites - https://www.energy.gov/hgeo/opr/spr-s... [5] DOE, SPR Quick Facts, Oct 2026 - https://www.energy.gov/hgeo/opr/spr-q... [6] Scientific American, salt cavern storage, 2026 - https://www.scientificamerican.com/ar... [7] DOE, SPR Origins - https://www.energy.gov/node/4040106 [8] DOE, Statutory Authority for an SPR Drawdown - https://www.energy.gov/hgeo/opr/statu... [9] White House press briefing, Mar 31 2022 - https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/... [10] DOE, final SPR purchase, Nov 8 2024 - https://www.energy.gov/node/4846633 [11] US Treasury, Price Impact of the SPR Release, Jul 26 2022 - https://content.govdelivery.com/accou... [12] Pipeline & Gas Journal / Reuters, Jun 2026 - https://pgjonline.com/news/2026/june/... [13] GAO-26-106918, May 29 2026 - https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-1... [14] Fortune, Oct 12 2026 - https://fortune.com/2026/10/12/global... [15] DOE, 172 million barrel release, Mar 11 2026 - https://www.energy.gov/node/4856800 [16] DOE, SPR purchase solicitation, Oct 21 2025 - https://www.energy.gov/node/4853478 [17] Yahoo Finance, Mar 9 2026 - https://www.aol.com/articles/last-yea... [18] EIA Today in Energy, Strait of Hormuz, Jun 16 2025 - https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/det... [19] Axios, IEA release, Mar 11 2026 - https://axios.com/2026/03/11/iea-oil-... [20] DOE, SPR exchange, Sep 29 2026 - https://www.energy.gov/articles/unite... [21] Reuters via Devdiscourse, Oct 17 2026 - https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/... [22] EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, Oct 19 2026 - https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/ [23] EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, Oct 2026 - https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/ [24] EIA Today in Energy, SPR releases, Apr 30 2026 - https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/det... [25] CNBC via Hellenic Shipping News, Jul 2026 - https://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/... [26] DOE, SPR emergency exchange, Apr 1 2026 - https://www.energy.gov/node/4857105 [27] Pipeline & Gas Journal, House SPR funding bill, May 12 2025 - https://pgjonline.com/news/2025/may/u... Music: "Stake Out" and "Horizons" by Alex Jones / Xander Jones (YouTube Audio Library). All illustrations, maps and charts are drawn by The Build Bill. Maps use US Census state boundaries. Narration voice is AI-generated. Researched and written by The Build Bill.